Les Moonves is the President, the CEO, and the Chairman of the Board at the CBS Corporation. As a result, it can be said that he possesses an enormous measure of influence over not just the corporation that he leads but also the world of entertainment as a whole.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Les Moonves:
Started Out As an Actor
Moonves started out as an actor. As such, he managed to land some small roles on various TV shows, but in time, he sought a chance of course. It is interesting to note that he has played himself on an episode of The Practice in 2003. However, Moonves is much likelier to show up on CBS’s late night TV shows, seeing as how he has shown up with David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, and James Corden.
Related to David Ben-Gurion
It is interesting to note that Moonves is related to David Ben-Gurion, who was both the first Prime Minister and the first Minister of Defense for Israel, meaning that it is not without reason that he is sometimes called the founding father of the same state. To be exact, Moonves is great-nephew to Paula Ben-Gurion, a Russian immigrant to the United States who met her future husband in New York City when he was visiting a friend’s home.
Married to Julie Chen
Moonves has been married twice. His first marriage was with Nancy Wiesenfeld, which resulted in three children. However, that marriage ended when Wiesenfeld filed for divorce based on irreconcilable differences in 2003, though the two were already living apart from one another at the time. In 2004, Moonves started dating and then got married to CBS reporter Julie Chen, which has resulted in a son who was born in 2009.
Serves on the Board of ZeniMax Media
Currently, Moonves is serving on the Board of Directors for ZeniMax Media, where his friend Ernest Del served as President until April of 2017. As a result, this explains why Moonves has shown up at the launch parties at a number of the most famous video games made by the studios owned by ZeniMax Media, with examples ranging from Fallout 3 to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Unsurprisingly, since Moonves is a member of the Board of Directors, it should come as no surprise to learn that he has invested a fair amount of money into the corporation as well.
Practices Transcendental Meditation
It is interesting to note that Moonves has stated that he is a practitioner of transcendental meditation because it helps to put him in a calmer state of mind. For those who are unfamiliar with the practice, transcendental meditation consists of repeating a silent mantra while seated in a comfortable position with the eyes closed, meaning that it is one of the simpler forms of meditation that can be found out there. With that said, that could be part of the explanation for why it is so popular, seeing as how it is not just one of the most popular forms of meditation but also one of the most studied forms of meditation by researchers who are curious about its mental and physical effects on its practitioners.
Follow Us
